The Ghost's Harp

Chapter IV

After I had set my bag down on the bed; I had lit the fireplace, pulled the chair next to the fire and warmed myself up; put on some soft calming tunes on YouTube and texted my boyfriend back home about my situation. And you know, it wasn't that bad.

I felt somewhat cozy in this room. It's a lot better looking than my apartment room back in California. And maybe one day id like to decorate my room like this. I decided to write down notes in my phone to what I'd need to buy.

But while sitting on the chair near the fire, I couldn't help feel very lonely..it would've probably felt different had there been other guests in this motel. But there wasn't..despite the clerk, I was the only other human in this house..and that can set a whole other level of anxiety on you..

I scoffed and tried to brush off the lonely feeling and concentrate on texting and listening to Lofi beats. But as I was browsing the web, I thought I felt a slight chill on my shoulder. I figured that the window or door must be somewhat open and that it was a draft. But when I looked around, no, the window and door were both securely closed. And while the room was old, there weren't any visible holes I could see in the floorboards or ceiling that could cause such a draft. I shuddered and added another log to the fire.

However, the feeling of loneliness, all the tales of haunted houses from Daniel, and the terrible murderous story from the clerk, began to crawl back into my mind..I felt like Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow, having to ride through the haunted forest alone with the thoughts of ghosts and goblins coming back to his recollection; lest the Headless Horseman suddenly appear and chase me.

Suddenly I broke out of my deep thought by a sudden thump. I flinched and even gasped a little. It came from downstairs in the foyer, as if something heavy dropped to the floor. But I soon sighed and remembered that I'm not quite alone in this house; the clerk must've accidentally dropped something.

I relaxed into my chair and decided to watch some funny videos, to distract me from anything else that was to possibly frighten me. I felt embarrassed at myself. Getting spooked by simple noises. Like I always said, 'Anything unnatural can be solved with natural explanations.'

After a small dinner consisting of some chips and a water bottle I had saved for my flight, towards 10:30 or 11, I felt it was time for bed. I did need to get up at 6:30 to get to the car rental dealership by 7 and get inside the airport by 7:30.

I didn't even bother taking off my pants or socks. I just took off my coat and shoes, turned out the lights, and having turned on some calming wave noises with music on my phone while it lay charging on the dresser next to my bed, I drifted into an exhausted asleep.

It was some hours later that I awoke groggily. I was definitely not used to sleeping in beds strange to me; and what's more..I didn't realize at the time..but I think something deep in my mind wanted me to get up..plus, I had noticed my music stopped playing cause the WiFi or something had made it buffer and pause.

As music helps me sleep, sometimes just bare silence can wake me up with a feeling that something is out of the ordinary. I mumbled as I leaned over and grabbed my phone which was charging next to me.

I turned it over and the screen turned on. 4:30 am it read. I grumbled in annoyance. I had awoke 2 hours earlier than I wanted to. And I definitely wanted more sleep. So I naturally turned over in my bed and snuggled the covers and pillow.

Now I must let the reader know that at this time, even though I was groggy, I was very still much aware of my surroundings. I had just realized I forgot to turn on the music again to help me sleep. So as I turned over, I suddenly heard a sound in the eerie calmness of the evening. I froze in place. And after a minute, the sound happened again.